Sometimes you need to quit when you are behind.  I finished up part of my on-going quilting project yesterday, and it was a struggle from the very beginning.  For some reason, when I changed the bobbin thread last, the machine wouldn't sew correctly.  The stitches were good, it just was sewing at erratic speeds and it felt like it was really laboring to sew.  I fought and fought with that - redoing the bobbin, re-threading everything, etc.  I finally forced the machine through a few stitches by hand when it was laboring, and it started sewing correctly.  I should have stopped then, but no...I was on a roll!  

I sewed 20 sets together, and then luckily, decided to make one full square.  It wasn't working!  I went on-line and googled "flying geese' pattern, and found a couple of good sites that showed me what I was doing wrong, and a couple of good hints, and I was off again.  I should have stopped there!  

I ripped out my 20 pieces, and started over again - I picked up my iron (that I had been using all morning) to press out the erroneous stitch line, and.....it spit rusty water on my fabric.  What the heck?  Rusty water?  Where did that come from??  And why didn't it spit it on the dark green fabric instead of the pale beige fabric?    I cleaned up that mess, and continued on my way.  

The sewing machine decided to start eating my fabric.  Really?  Really, truly?  I fought with that for a while, and found a solution (my fabric feeders weren't able to grab the fabric to sew, so the needle was pushing the fabric down.)  I struggled on, and did eventually finish my project - but it took a lot longer than I had planned.  What should have taken a couple of hours at most took like four hours, and I had a major headache when I was done.  At least it is done.  Next weekend, I will be putting everything together, and I hope it goes a little more smoothly!

I mentioned yesterday that I had spent some time crocheting.  Here are the projects I finished:

A coaster:

A snowflake:

A very small bowl (the pattern called for yarn, and I thought I would see what thread would do)

A very large doily.  It is about 20 inches across.

Another week slipped, and I have very little to show for it!  It was a busy week, I will admit.  Monday, I took Alli to a dermatologist, who diagnosed her rash as ringworm..I have taken her 4 separate times to her pediatrician, and he didn't diagnose it that way - what's going on???  We switched her prescription, and her skin is getting worse.  I called in and talked to the dermatologist's assistant, and she said that was normal, and it would take over a month to clear up, and said to give her over-the-counter Zyrtec or Benadryl.  I gave up yesterday, because Alli was so miserable, and put some of the ointment I had left over from her pediatrician on top of the anti-fungal meds, and she seemed a lot more comfortable.  At least she wasn't digging at her skin under her brace!  Poor baby!  She goes back to her pediatrician on Wednesday (separate issue - swallowing studies) and I'll check in with him then, too.   Alli isn't scheduled to see the dermatologist again until the end of March.

Tuesday was a loooong scout meeting.  There was a big dust up in the adult leadership recently, and Tuesday night was a clearing of the air and resignations and election of new officers.  It was a very unpleasant meeting, but hopefully, we can start out fresh and go forward.  We also brought in 5 new Webelos into the troop, so it was not the best time to be having the dirty laundry aired, but....it's done.  Onward and upward!  I got home (after a trip to Walmart after the meeting) after 10:00.  I was pooped!

Wednesday, Ralph took off for Sacramento for a couple of days - business meetings.  I think they were productive, and for once, thing ran relatively smoothly while he was gone.  Thursday, AJ picked up Alli for me from daycare and I had a nail appointment after work - that always throws things off time-wise at home.  I was fixing dinner at 7:30 or 8:00 that night - another long night!  Friday was back to normal!  Normal day - actually even a slow day at work, so I wasn't all stressed out on a Friday  night - what a thought!  Yesterday was chores and shopping.  I had a bit of help in the cleaning department this weekend (Ralph and Alex pitched in) so I had a bit of time to do our taxes (yuck!) and for crocheting yesterday afternoon, and even watched a couple of movies.  I picked up "Puss in Boots" yesterday - cute movie!

I have to announce, AJ's friend Dallas won Sectionals in his weight class Saturday, and competes in State next weekend in Bakersfield.    We are so proud of him!!

Allison got glasses yesterday!  Now, she isn't wearing them much, but she got them!  She doesn't seem to like them much.  The doctor said she isn't too nearsighted, but she could use glasses, so we decided to try them out.  So far, not such a winner!  She spends a lot of time with her eyes closed while she has them on.

I also got a call from the school nurse yesterday from Anderson High School.  Allison's teacher is concerned about how often Alli chokes when she eats, and the nurse suggested we check with her doctor about some swallowing studies for her.  Lovely!  Alli has an appointment the 28th to see Dr. G to see what he says.  As far as I can tell, she chokes when she puts too much in her mouth, but....maybe I'm just not seeing everything.  We'll see what we can find out!

I also did something very exciting (for me!) yesterday - I booked tickets to Baltimore!  I'm going to a conference for work in April to Baltimore, and the other people going decided we should go early, and spend a couple of days in DC while we are there.  I'm so excited!  I haven't been anywhere in that area!  We are flying out of Sacramento on Saturday, April 14th.  The conference doesn't start until Tuesday, so we have the weekend (Saturday is a full day of travel - we leave at 8:00 a.m. and land at 9:00 p.m.) to explore a bit and see the sights.  Just going to Baltimore was going to be fun - adding a side trip to DC will be great!  Poor Ralph, though - he will have full parental control of Allison for the whole week!  I'm hoping to get some backup for him - a girlfriend is supposed to be staying with us for a few weeks around that time.  If it all works out, she is willing to help out around the house for Ralph while I'm gone.

You know it's bad when your husband tells you that you need to update your blog!  Talk about a busy week!  Today is the first morning that I can sit down for a few minutes, and even that is just for a few minutes!  Between Valentine's Day (a chili cook-off at work, meaning I made chili and coleslaw Monday night - and I didn't win) and a Valentine's party at Daycare (which meant baking cookies Monday night as well) and cooking a 'nice' dinner on Valentine's night (steak and shrimp scampi!) and the off to scouts and then baking more cookies for school on Wednesday night, and a haircut after work on Thursday, followed by a retirement party the same night, and...in between, the normal stresses of just keeping everyone else fed and clean.  Whew!  I'm tired!  I do have a nice long weekend this weekend - and I'm off to Susanville for Saturday and Sunday.

I did 'relax' a bit in the evenings with a couple of small projects - a coaster and a small bookmark.

It must have been a busy week - I didn't get any posts in since last  Monday!  I don't think it was that I was that busy, I just didn't take the time in the morning to post, since that is my normal computer time. I was busy, but...doing fun stuff!  Last Sunday, during the Super Bowl, I started this scarf.  It took two skeins of yarn, so I didn't get it finished until later in the week.  I wore it yesterday to my quilting class and one of the ladies even asked for the pattern!  It turned out really cute, and really soft.  I used Joan's Angel Hair yarn.

I also finished a new bookmark.  It's hard to see because of the black background, but it is a pencil.

It was a very quick project.  I think it took longer to weave in the ends than to make the project.  (Not quite, but pretty close!)

One other project I made - a Giants baby baseball hat.  The new Crochet Today magazine had the pattern, and it is adorable!  A coworker is a huge Giants fan, and has a 6 month old that I hope this fits!

No headache this morning!  Yippee!  I even slept in a bit this morning (I packed most of Alli's lunch/snacks last night - saving me a few minutes in the morning, at least)  I feel all better and ready to meet the day today.  Well, sort of, it IS Monday after all.  No need to rush right out for a Monday, right?  

The ruffled scarf I finished this weekend needed more than one skein of yarn, so I had a partial skein left over.  Oh, what to do?  I tried out a different stitch with the yarn.  It came out much lighter that the other scarf, but....the stitch seam shows.  (Which would probably only bother me - we'll see!)  Here's the scarf on its own:

And here is it in comparison to the first one I made - much thinner:

Talk about luck - this is how much yarn I had left when I finished - not much!

I also made a "Victorian hook cover" this weekend - one of the projects on a Yahoo! group.  It is just about an inch high, done in size 30 thread.

Here it is on a hook - one that belonged to my great grandmother, I believe.

I'm tired of migraines!  I've had one every day this week (including this morning!) and they are wearing me out.  Lucking my Rx deadens most of the pain, but I still don't feel good, and I'm tired of it.  I want to feel good when I wake up, not wince!  Oh well, this too shall pass - they don't stick around forever. I think I caught today's in time to chase most of it away.

I finally finished the scarf I was making with the ruffle yarn.  It turned out very ruffly!  I picked up another skein (in pinks and grey) and am going to try to knit a scarf with it and see how that goes.  

I also finished up a new doily:

What is it about cats and something new?  Picot is always right in my way!

The boys and I took the dogs for a walk again yesterday - and once again, I had to stand around and wait while they threw rocks in the water.  I don't get the thrill, myself, but....they were having fun.  They did turn it in to a contest (of course) trying to get a rock in the center of an old tire.  Boys will be boys!